Photo By: Fellowship of the Rich
On this evening, the bar transformed into an area for a wrestling match. The place was sold out as people came to watch midgets, legally people under 4ft 10inches, wrestle each other.
This brings me to the political correctness topic of the week: disabilities- or more specifically midgets, versus dwarfs, versus little people.
People under the adult height of 4ft 10inches are legally considered dwarfs, the condition itself being called dwarfism. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, dwarfism is considered a disability and people fitting the requirements can apply for benefits that come with the act.
It used to be common place to call people with the dwarfism condition dwarfs or midgets. For some reason over time this became viewed as an offensive term. Now the term little people is considered the politically correct way to refer to these people.
Even as I'm writing this I'm having a hard time figuring out what to call the people- should it be dwarfs, midgets, little people, or people with the dwarfism condition. Even though I find political correctness a waste of time it has been so ingrained into me that I struggle with it sometimes.
If you think about it, if your friend uses a term you consider inconsiderate or politically incorrect don't you stare at them in disbelief and look down on them a bit? This is how we have all be trained and it is not universal terms that are considered "bad," hence one of the major issues with political correctness.
This is what has happened with the word midget. The word used to be used to describe dwarfs that were put on display for entertainment purposes. Since then, this term has stuck as a derogatory term for many people with the condition. Now the Little People of America organization is fighting to get the word abolished.
Although I don't personally have the condition, I think this is a bit silly. We live in America where we are supposed to have the freedom of speech. We are not supposed to be limited to what we can say based on who the word may offend.
If someone uses the word "midget" as an insult, in my opinion it is like using any other word that would be directed at certain people. For example, the word bitch is almost always used as an insult to women. Although this word is considered a curse word, I hear it on a daily basis and there is no wide spread stigma around adults using the word to express themselves.
Also, sometimes the word midget is just the best describer at the moment to get across who you are referring to when communicating with others. Just because the word midget, or even dwarf, is used instead of little people does not mean the speaker is trying to offend.
Personally, I know whenever referring to a midget I hesitate on what to refer to them as and I normally end up just calling them midgets because I see no issue with the word.
I would like to end on the note I read on the Little People of America's website that I agree with. When asked what to call people with dwarfism the website said "Such terms as dwarf, little person, LP, and person of short stature are all acceptable, but most people would rather be referred to by their name than by a label". While I don't believe in political correctness, I do believe in human decency and think that calling someone by their name rather than coming up with a name for them is always the better option.
I'm really curious to hear what you have to stay about this topic; please comment below!
